Grade 11 Reading comprehension worksheet

What is on the worksheet

1. The shared path A council must allocate a fixed budget between repairing a shared path and expanding a car park. A traffic count measures vehicles, while a community survey records experiences of walking and cycling. Each source captures something different. A policy brief argues that the decision should state its goals explicitly before treating any one measure as decisive. Why is a single measure insufficient to settle the decision?

2. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? A narrative shift to events earlier than the current story time.

   1. Flashback
   2. Protagonist
   3. Mood
   4. Climax

3. An old map at the shoreline An old map placed a footpath farther inland than a current map did. A student concluded that the shoreline had moved toward the path. Her partner noticed that the old map used a coarser scale and a different reference grid. They aligned several stable landmarks and checked the maps' dates and stated accuracy before comparing the coast. Some difference remained, but it was smaller than the initial overlay suggested. Their report distinguished possible landscape change from differences caused by mapping methods. What distinction made the final report stronger?

4. The threshold in the model A river model issued a warning when a predicted level exceeded a fixed threshold. During testing, one prediction fell just below the threshold and another just above it, even though the difference was smaller than the model's usual uncertainty. The analyst kept the operational threshold but added a review zone around it. Cases in that zone received closer attention instead of being described as completely different levels of certainty. The threshold still supported action, but the report explained that a sharp decision boundary did not make the underlying measurements equally sharp. Which statement is most consistent with the report?

   1. Small changes across a boundary need not imply a large change in confidence.
   2. Thresholds remove measurement error.
   3. Every below-threshold case is certainly safe.
   4. Every above-threshold value is exact.

5. Public memory A town considered replacing a monument’s short inscription with a longer panel. The original inscription celebrated an expedition but did not mention people already living in the region. Some residents wanted no changes; others wanted removal. A committee proposed retaining the object while adding evidence about its creation, the expedition and the communities affected. Identify a question the committee should address before writing.

6. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? A conclusion supported by clues and reasoning, not always explicitly stated.

   1. Symbol
   2. Inference
   3. Protagonist
   4. Mood

7. The shared path A council must allocate a fixed budget between repairing a shared path and expanding a car park. A traffic count measures vehicles, while a community survey records experiences of walking and cycling. Each source captures something different. A policy brief argues that the decision should state its goals explicitly before treating any one measure as decisive. Identify a value judgement that would remain even with better data.

8. The unreliable clock “I was never late,” the narrator insisted, though the kitchen clock had stopped the previous winter. When the station bell rang, the narrator described it as unusually early. At the end of the passage, an unopened letter on the table was dated a week before the day the narrator believed it to be. Does the passage prove deliberate dishonesty? Explain.

9. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? The attitude conveyed by a text's language and choices.

   1. Flashback
   2. Tone
   3. Personification
   4. Narrator

10. The translator's note A class compared two translations of a short historical speech. One used the word duty, while the other used obligation. The surrounding sentences were similar, but the class noticed different tones. Their teacher explained that a word in the original language could cover meanings that did not map neatly onto a single modern English term. Instead of deciding that one translator must be careless, the pupils examined context and read the translators' notes. Their analysis described how the choices shaped interpretation and identified points that remained uncertain without deeper knowledge of the original. Why was it premature to call one translator careless?

11. The cheaper proposal A headline said that Proposal B would cost 20% less than Proposal A. The detailed table showed that A included equipment, installation and five years of maintenance, while B listed equipment and installation only. Both arithmetic totals were correctly added, but they covered different things. The review group requested a common five-year cost comparison and kept uncertain maintenance estimates visible. After the missing category was included, B still appeared cheaper, though by a much smaller margin. The headline had been numerically neat but incomplete. Rewrite the headline's claim more cautiously without inventing a new percentage.

12. The cheaper proposal A headline said that Proposal B would cost 20% less than Proposal A. The detailed table showed that A included equipment, installation and five years of maintenance, while B listed equipment and installation only. Both arithmetic totals were correctly added, but they covered different things. The review group requested a common five-year cost comparison and kept uncertain maintenance estimates visible. After the missing category was included, B still appeared cheaper, though by a much smaller margin. The headline had been numerically neat but incomplete. What happened after the missing category was included?

    1. B still appeared cheaper, but by less.
    2. No comparison could ever be made.
    3. B was guaranteed to be free.
    4. A became identical to B in every respect.

13. Two cities report different rates using different case definitions. Why is direct comparison uncertain?

14. The right formula, the wrong model A learner correctly substitutes numbers into a constant-acceleration formula to estimate a vehicle’s travel distance. The recorded velocity data, however, show that acceleration changes sharply during the journey. The arithmetic is sound, but the model’s condition is not satisfied. The teacher asks the learner to use smaller intervals or another method consistent with the data rather than merely rechecking multiplication. State the broader lesson for using formula sheets.

15. A score without a guarantee A school trial used software to flag possible missing steps in worked solutions. The tool correctly flagged several incomplete examples but also flagged a concise valid method it had not been designed to recognize. The teacher kept the software as a prompt for review rather than an automatic marking authority. Pupils could explain their reasoning, and final decisions considered the actual mathematics. In the report, the team separated the number of flags from the number of confirmed errors. A warning was useful evidence to inspect, not proof of a mistake. Why were flags and confirmed errors counted separately?

16. A score without a guarantee A school trial used software to flag possible missing steps in worked solutions. The tool correctly flagged several incomplete examples but also flagged a concise valid method it had not been designed to recognize. The teacher kept the software as a prompt for review rather than an automatic marking authority. Pupils could explain their reasoning, and final decisions considered the actual mathematics. In the report, the team separated the number of flags from the number of confirmed errors. A warning was useful evidence to inspect, not proof of a mistake. Suggest a useful performance measure beyond the total number of flags.

17. The right formula, the wrong model A learner correctly substitutes numbers into a constant-acceleration formula to estimate a vehicle’s travel distance. The recorded velocity data, however, show that acceleration changes sharply during the journey. The arithmetic is sound, but the model’s condition is not satisfied. The teacher asks the learner to use smaller intervals or another method consistent with the data rather than merely rechecking multiplication. Why is correct arithmetic insufficient in this example?

18. The efficient machine A prototype receives 500 J of energy and transfers 350 J to the intended lifting task. A presenter calls the remaining 150 J lost. A reviewer clarifies that the energy has not disappeared; it is transferred into less useful forms for the task, such as thermal energy and sound. The stated efficiency measures useful output divided by input for this defined task. How many joules were not counted as useful lifting output?

19. A rate rises from 2% to 3%. The relative percentage increase is

    1. 100%
    2. 50%
    3. 3%
    4. 1%

20. Reading and literary analysis: which term fits this description? The part of a narrative in which central conflicts are settled or brought to a stopping point.

    1. Unreliable narrator
    2. Resolution
    3. Irony
    4. Antagonist